Coffee yields in Kiambu Kenya records an increase

Kiambu coffee farmers have witnessed their yields increase by over seven tonnes owing to the use of blended fertilizer in their farms.

Kiambu County Governor Dr. James Nyoro confirmed the report and attributed the growth to use of blended fertilizer which has helped to reduce the cost of production while maximizing yields since it combines various fertilizers such as Calcium Ammonium Nitrate(CAN) and Diphosphate Per(DAP) as well as lime to reduce soil acidity.

“When coffee farmers approached me to provide fertilizers, I asked what they wanted and they said CAN and DAP. However, given the state of soils in the farms, I asked them to research and it is when the idea of blended fertilizer was born,” said Nyoro.

He also promised that the County government will increase production by continuing to offer shared services to farmers.

“My experience of over eighteen years in coffee sector has given me passion for coffee. I am going to do everything within my power to see that farmers get high quality and quantity coffee. One way to achieve this is by offering collective services to our farmers.” He said.

Value addition

The governor promised to see that farmers are cushioned against exploitation by building a processing plant in Kiambu and ensuring that all the coffee produced is bought within the County and at better prices, adding that the coffee will also be consumed within the County to give farmers and residents full power.

“Once we are done with production, the next phase will be to facilitate processing and value addition as well as marketing in the County. Once processed, the coffee will be sold as a Kiambu brand.  Our work should not be to produce while others benefit from our sweat, we must also benefit.” Nyoro said.

Joseph Kamau, Kiambu County Executive Committee (CEC) for agriculture said that the County government has given 860 tons of blended fertilizer within two years, 760 tons in the first phase and 100 tons in the second phase.

“In the first phase, each of the registered 35,000 coffee farmers in the County got a bag of 10kg blended fertilizer which helped increase coffee yield by over 7 tons. Today we have given out 100 tons which will benefit 10, 000 farmers. Each 10 kg bag can be used on 40 coffee trees.” said Kamau.

The 100 tonnes of fertilizer is expected to improve coffee production by 2.5 times more and according to the CEC, Kiambu County is the leading producer of coffee in the country as 25% of coffee comes from the small and large scale coffee farming in the County.

“Apart from the fertilizer, we aim to further increase this production by providing shared services to our farmers from a pool of experts,” he said.